A Swiss couple is now free after being held captive by Pakistani Taliban militants for more than eight months. Swiss tourists Olivier David Och and Daniela Widmer appeared smiling and looking healthy before television cameras Thursday at a military airbase near the Pakistani capital Islamabad. It is the first time the two have been seen […]
Karzai: US Troops Should Withdraw From Afghan Villages
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 9:10 am (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called for U.S. troops to pull back from Afghan villages and relocate to their bases following the killing of 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan earlier this week, allegedly by a U.S. soldier. Mr. Karzai also told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the Afghan government wants to take full […]
Panetta and Karzai Meet in Afghanistan
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday amid anger over the U.S. decision to fly out of Afghanistan the U.S. soldier who allegedly carried out a deadly shooting spree. A Pentagon spokesman said the soldier was flown out of Afghanistan late Wednesday for his safety and to make him […]
Obama Hosts Cameron at Lavish White House Dinner
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 3:45 am (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed the “special relationship” between their countries with a glittering state dinner Wednesday night at the White House. More than 300 guests looked on as the two leaders praised their personal and diplomatic relationship in a separate toasts. Mr. Obama, quoting the late Winston Churchill, […]
Rupert Murdoch’s Son Seeks Leniency from House of Commons Committee in Phone Hacking Scandal
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 3:35 am (UTC-5)
James Murdoch is appealing for leniency from a British parliamentary committee investigating phone hacking at News Corps’ defunct News of the World tabloid. On Wednesday, Murdoch submitted a seven page letter to the committee, offering an apology and shifting blame to his senior staffers, whom he claims hid the scandal from him. The heir to […]
Prominent Chinese Official is Fired in Chongqing Scandal
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 2:55 am (UTC-5)
Bo Xilai, the charismatic Communist Party leader of the Chinese city of Chongqing, has been removed from his post in the wake of a scandal involving a former aide. China’s official Xinhua news agency released a brief statement Thursday saying Bo is being replaced by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang. The statement gave no reason for […]
US Soldier Who Allegedly Killed Civilians Flown Out of Afghanistan
Posted March 15th, 2012 at 12:55 am (UTC-5)
The U.S. soldier who allegedly carried out a deadly shooting spree in Afghanistan has been flown out of the country. An unidentified senior U.S. official said the soldier was flown late Wednesday to Kuwait, where the U.S. military has several detention facilities. A Pentagon spokesman said the soldier was being flown out of Afghanistan for […]
US, South Korea Welcome Landmark Free Trade Pact
Posted March 14th, 2012 at 11:40 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart are hailing Thursday’s inauguration of a long-stalled free trade agreement. The pact, known as the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, was signed in 2007, but not approved by lawmakers in either country until late last year due to political opposition and changes of government in both countries. […]
Belgium Mourns 28 Killed During a Swiss Skiing Trip
Posted March 14th, 2012 at 10:25 pm (UTC-5)
Belgium is mourning the death of 28 people, most of them children, who were killed Tuesday in a bus crash following a ski vacation in Switzerland. Family members and friends of the victims gathered for a candlelight memorial in Saint Peter’s Church, in Leuven, Belgium. Other mourners left flowers outside the Swiss morgue in Sion […]
Belgium Mourns 28 Killed in Swiss Skiing Trip
Posted March 14th, 2012 at 5:55 pm (UTC-5)
Belgium is mourning the death of 28 people, most of them children, who were killed in a bus crash following a ski vacation in Switzerland. Distraught parents flew to Switzerland Wednesday to identify the dead and attend to the surviving children. Doctor Cawen Mechiel, who is treating some of the injured children at a hospital […]
